Sekinat: Muted Voices

Chapter 20:Halima's dilemma

Being home on a weekday felt really strange and disconcerting for Halima, even if she could neither form nor fathom the precise reason for these feelings. The initial excitement of watching other kids traipse off to school, while she and Saratu lounged in front of their house doing nothing soon wore off around midday, especially when the unnerving and strange quiet descended upon their normally boisterous street, giving it a forlorn and deserted ambience.

As she and Saratu played alone in front of the house, she sighted the old woman who lived 3 houses away from them in the distance. 

The old woman was seated on an easy wooden chair in the front veranda of her house, immobile save for the quick flick of a plastic fan to ward off errant flies hovering around her face. 

There were several rumours about her and how she came to live alone without any family member ever visiting her. However, the most consistent claimed that she used to be a very wealthy Groundnut and Kolanut merchant many decades ago, based in Kano state. 

She was said to be so wealthy that she had four big trucks which delivered her produce all over the state and beyond. They even asserted that she was in the confidence of British District officers and business men, Political figures who would only deal with her and no one else. Such was the height of her power and influence that she was consulted before important decisions concerning her community was taken. This was quite instructive considering the system of Patriarchy which dominated every facet of social and Political life during this period. However, in spite of her wealth and influence she was unable to conceive a child, no matter how hard she tried according to the narration about her. 

She was alleged to have spent a lot of money, visited both orthodox and even unorthodox practitioners for a solution to her problem all to no avail. Eventually God smiled upon her and she was able to birth a healthy and handsome boy which she dotted on both night and day, the mystique which surrounded her apparently extended to the young child as no one ever knew the father of her child. Who would dare to confront her with this question so only rumours behind her back sufficed to satisfy their curiosity. Her eventual decline ensued when a serious misfortune visited her in form of a serious illness upon her only child. She abandoned her business and focused on finding a remedy for her child's illness. A lot of money and effort was committed but all came to no avail as the child finally gave up the ghost. She became an emotional wreck, unable to efficiently run her businesses. Everything began to crumble around her while some of her unscrupulous staffs took that opportunity to siphon and make off with a lot of money from her business. This coupled with the oil boom which rendered the Agric commodities sector obsolete contributed to her rapidling declining fortunes.

 She eventually lost it all and began drifting all over the country finally ending up in their community where she has lived alone for as long as anyone could remember. Nobody knows how she sustains herself as she never ventures out of the house, neither did she farm or have any money making concerns that anyone could point to. Her quiet almost aloof personae added in no small measure to the air of mystique and secrecy which constantly pervaded her immediate space.

An old man who Halima had never seen before bent over a gnarled wooden cane reaching just above his waist, slowly shuffled past the front of their house and waved at them although Saratu engrossed in the game she was playing did not look up neither did she acknowledge his greetings.

They did have some fruits her mother had brought from the farm a few days back, so had enough to indulge their taste buds as they satiated their hunger. Around midday when Saratu started complaining of hunger, she brought out the food their mother had left them in the morning before leaving for the farm. The full belly coupled with the humid midday weather lulled her little sister off to sleep. Halima unable to sleep began to wander around their small room bored and listless, before she eventually ventured outside to sit in front of their house to await her little sister's awakening or hopefully sight something exciting outside.

 As she settled down outside watching the languid world go by, her thoughts settled on the momentous news her mother had shared with her few weeks prior. So they were relocating to a place far away from this town to a very big city and capital of Nigeria called Abuja to live with one of her late father's relations.

Her father's Aunty has been looking forward to meet both Halima and her little sister and the plans had been made even before the demise of her father. Her mother promised her that Abuja was much better than their little town, peaceful and held much more opportunities for them to live a better and prosperous life.

Her immediate reaction to the news had been one of confusion as she did not even know how to react or what to think, then as she began to rationalise the whole situation mounting panic set in just like it did for her mother, a sense of the unknown and all the negative "what if's ensued in chronological order. Finally, she began to consider the possibility of Abuja being the gateway to fulfilment of her dreams, aspirations and daydreams. What if Allah was directing them to that place and the woman so that her dreams could come to fruition through her she considered. After all her mother had remarked that there was a lot of wealth ensconced in that city, much more than anyone could count.